Suction cleaner



I 24, 1940. v. E. CARLSON SUCTION CLEANER Filed May 7, 1938 INVENTOR Carlson Vernon E.

ATTORNEY vide a newand improved suction cleaner.

Patented Dec. 24, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SUCTIQN CLEANER Vernon E. Carlson, Canton, Ohio, minor to The Hoover Company,

corporation of Ohio North Canton, Ohio, a

Application May "I, 1938, Serial No. 206,533

6 Claim.

other object is to provide a suction cleaner casing so constructed as to receive and secure the ends of the furniture guard. A further object is to provide means for securing the furniture guard to the cleaner casing. Another object is to provide a cleaner casing so constructed as to secure thereto a furniture guard of 'extrudedrubber, not molded to the contour of the casing. A further object is to provide a method of securing the furniture guard to the cleaner casing. Other objects and advantages of the invention will .be apparent from the specification and annexed drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side view of a modern suction cleaner with the present invention embodied V therein;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary bottom view of the cleaner showing one endof the furniture guard secured to the casing, and a portion of the furniture guard shown in dotted lines prior to arrangement about the front end of the cleaner casing;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary enlarged bottom view showing one end of the furniture guard secured in the cleaner casing;

Figure 4 is .a perspective view showing the method of inserting one end of the furniture guard in the retaining means on the cleaner casing, and; Figure 5 is a bottom view of another embodiment of the invention showing the means for securing the ends of a furniture guard to the cleaner casing.

Referri lg to'Figures 1 to 4 inclusive one'embodiment of the present invention is disclosed, and comprises a suction cleaner having a casing I0 provided with a top wall II, a front wall I! and two rearwardly extending side walls l3 only one of which is shown and which cooperate to define a nozzle H. A motor casing I5 is positioned above the casing 10 and houses an unshown motor, the shaft ii of which passes downwardly through a fan chamber H in the casing Ill, into an air passageway l8 extending to the nozzle l4. Rotatively supported within the nozzle I4 is an agitator 20 provided with an annular groove 2| which seats a which is effective to draw cleaning air between the nozzle lips 26 and 21, through the name H, air passageway l8, fan chamber ll, and exhaust it through the-outlet 28 into a removable dust bag 29. The cleaner is movably supported upon a pair of front and rear wheels 30 and SI only one of each pair being shown, the front wheels 30 being disposed in the openings 32 at the rear of the nozzle lip 21 and secured to the side walls l3,

while the rear wheels are carried on an adjustable castor 33. A handle 34 is pivoted to the casing and it is supported in different operative-positions by means of a foot operated handle control device 35.

A resilient furniture guard 40 is arranged about the front and side walls of the cleaner and its ends 4| are secured to the casing by means formed integrally'in the side walls l3 of the casing. The

furniture'guard 40 is of extrudedmolded rubber,

or-other suitable material, and the surface adjacent the casing I0 is provided with a'longitudinally extending shoulder 43 whereby the lower portion 44 of the furniture'guard is of less crosssection than the upper portion 45. The shoulder 43 of the furniture guard rests on lugs 46 projecting outwardly from the casing III to support the furniture guard with respect to the lower edge of the casing and to prevent the furniture guard from slipping downwardly off the casing. I

The means forsecuring each end ll of the furniture guard to the casing is formed integrally with the latter and comprises a. substantially The inner defining wall of the recess 50 is provided with a V-shaped projection 51 extending in wardly of the recess, while the outer defining wall has a substantially right angle corner 58 spaced from the projection 51. The lug 51 and the comer 58 bear against opposite surfaces of the rubber fumiture guard to secure the latter in the-recess '50.

In order to arrange the furniture guard 40 on' v the casing ill, the required length of rubber is cut from strip stock, and the ends 4| are inserted into the recesses 50, and the remaining portion is loosely disposed about the casing as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2. In order to insert the ends 4| into the recesses 50, the ends ll are passed through the open mouth of the recess at the bottom of the cleaner upwardly-into the casing, as shown in Figure 4, so that a portion 60 of the furniture guard is disposed transversely of the side wall and a portion '6! is parallel with'respect to the side wall of the cleaner, to thereby arrange the ends of the furniture guard in longitudinal the nut I threaded on the shaft 13.

offset relation with respect to the adjacent portions of the furniture guard. As the ends 4! are forced into the recesses 58 the spaced inwardly projecting lugs 51 and 58 bend the portion of the furniture guard therebetween and also hear thereagainst to firmly hold the ends of the guard in place. Thereafter the remaining portion of the furniture guard, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2, is stretched about the casing to the full line position shown in Figure 2, along the lower edges of the front and side walls, the shoulder 43 of the furniture guard resting on the supporting lugs 46.

It will be noted that one of the lugs 46 is disposed adjacent each of the recesses 58, and they function to support the furniture guard in a direction opposite to the downwardly exposed mouth of the recesses 50 to further prevent the ends of the furniture guard from dropping out of the recesses. When the furniture guard is in the desired position it is undertension and exerts a pull on the ends 4| to thereby tend to bring the ends 4| intofirm engagement with the projections 51 and 58.

Figure 5 discloses another embodiment of the invention and comprises a cleaner casing I8 having a front wall and a pair of side walls, only one side of the walls ll being shown. The cleaner is movably supported on the usual front and rear wheels, one of the front wheels I2 being shown,

and the latter is secured to a shaft 13 by means of a nut 85 formed integrally on the shaft and a spring clip 9i. The shaft 13 is carried by a wheel bracket 14 formed integrally with-the side wall II and is secured thereto by a nut 15 disposed in a recess 16 formed in the wheel bracket 14.

Arranged about the front and side walls of the cleaner is a furniture guard 80 of rubber strip material, the ends 8| of which extend through U-shaped slots 82" provided in the side walls of the casing. 'The ends 8| of the furniture guard 80 are bent back along the inner surface of the side walls II and are held in this position by means of a clamp 84 secured to the wheel bracket 14 by The end of the clamp 84 is provided with a laterally extending flange 86 which bears tightly against the furniture guard as indicated at 81 to hold the latter to the casing. The clamp 84 rests on a shoulder 88 formed integrally with the wheel bracket I4 to prevent the clamp 84 from rotating about the shaft I3.

In o'rder-to assemble the furniture guard and front wheels onto the cleaner casing, the required length of furniture guard is severed from strip stock and the ends8l thereof are passed laterally and upwardly through the open ends at the bottom of the slots 82 into the latter. The clamp 84 is slipped onto the shaft 13 with its attached wheel 12, and the nut I5 is dropped into the recess 16 and is tightened to firmly secure the clamp 84 against the wheel bracket 14, the end 88 of the clamp bearing against the end 8| of the furniture guard forcing the latter against the inner surface of the side wall I I to hold the furniture guard to ends of the furniture guard; and that it is not' necessary to mold the furniture guard to conform to the contour of the cleaner casing, but that the furniture guard may be of strip stock.

I claim:

1. In a suction cleaner, a casing forming a nozzle, a wheel bracket formed integrally with said casing, means for securing a cleaner supporting wheel to said wheel bracket, a furniture guard along said nozzle, means for clamping one end of said furniture guard to said casing, and means carried by said wheel securing means for holding said clamping means to said wheel bracket.

2. In a suction cleaner, a casing forming a nozzle, a wheel bracket formed integrally with,

said casing, meansfor securing a cleaner supporting wheel to said wheel bracket, a furniture guard along said nozzle, means for clamping one end of said furniture guard to said casing, means carried by said wheel securing means for holding said clamping means to said wheel bracket, and means on'said wheel bracket for preventing rotation of said clamping means.

3. In a suction cleaner, a casing forming a nozzle, a furniture guard along said nozzle, means defining an opening in said casing for the reception of one end of the furniture guard, said opening having an open mouth in a bottom edge of said casing for laterally passing one end of said furniture guard upwardly with respect to said casing into-said opening, and means for bending said furniture guard end with respect to the.

remainder of said furniture guard for securing said one end of said furniture guard to said casing.

4. In a suction cleaner, a casing having a transverse nozzle and side walls extending rearwardly therefrom, a furniture .guardalong said nozzle and side walls, means in each of said side walls toward the rear of said casing, said, irregular" recesses receiving the ends of said furniture guard to offset the latter longitudinally of its length to anchor said furniture guard to said casing, and

lug means in said recesses for deforming said ends of said furniture guard to additionally anchor said furniture guard ends in said recesses.

6. In a suction cleaner, a casing forming a nozzle, a furniture guard along said nozzle, means defining an opening in said casing for the reception of the furniture guard, said opening having an open mouth in the bottom edge of said casing for laterally passing one end of said furniture guard upwardly with respect to said casing into said opening, a wheel bracket on said casing for carrying a cleaner supporting wheel, said wheel bracket being adjacent said opening, and means on said wheel bracket for securing said one end of said furniture guard in said opening.

VERNON E. CARLSON. 

